


Cascades

by Bandtrees



Category: Mortifer (Webcomic)
Genre: Dancing in the Rain, Don't Have to Know Canon, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, Multi, No Incest, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Requited Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, artemis is a good person in this, not a murderous dictator lol, or just an au where he's like, playing in the rain, this is before his power trip and murdering like half of heaven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 01:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8824321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bandtrees/pseuds/Bandtrees
Summary: It rains in Heaven for the first time.





	1. Chapter 1

"Kain? Kain, wake up."

It was rare for Lorelei to ever wake Kain up directly. She hadn't ever since he was newly formed, but this was important. She lightly nudged his shoulder. The smaller angel simply rolled over in his bed with a groan, rubbing his head into the pillow further. 

Lorelei frowned a bit, nudging Kain again but more roughly this time. "Kain, this is important! Wake up!" She whispered, glancing out the window as if to make sure they still had time. 

There was another silence.

"Kain!"

That did it. The younger moaned in frustration, rolling back over to glare at his sister. Kain wasn't a morning person by any sense of the word- really he wasn't a 'sun not visible' person in general -and it showed. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking slightly crosseyed since he was still half asleep. "What is it?" He barely mumbled, pausing to yawn.

Lorelei quickly reached over to the window and shut the curtains, looking at the other with a mischievous smile. "Johnathan's already outside, come on!" She jumped down from the bunk bed's ladder and gestured for Kain to follow.

He looked at her in confusion. "What's this about?" He rubbed his eyes again and ruffled his hair with another yawn. "At least let me wake up first..." He didn't protest though, carefully climbing down from his bunk and watching Lorelei a bit warily. "Is it my birthday again? Whose birthday is it...?" 

The blonde angel laughed, shaking her head. "It's not anybody's birthday, silly! Just hurry up, it's going to be worth it! Promise." She ran a hand through her hair, practically skipping down the stairs. 

Kain followed behind, a bit slower since he put two feet per step and still held the railing, but he kept up. The wooden stairs creaked loudly with every weight put on them. There was a light pattering noise on the roof and outside, only serving to make him even more curious as to what was going on.

When he got downstairs, Lorelei was standing in the doorway. It was then that Kain realized what was so important.

It was raining. It didn't rain in Heaven. Artemis had told him it only ever rained once every... one, two, maybe three hundred years? He wasn't sure. Either way, this was quite the rare sight.

It was quite the downpour. Not that Kain had much to compare it to, but it didn't seem to be just sprinkling. There were puddles outside, raindrops pelting the huts. Some of the winged angels were using their wings to shield themselves from the wet, while others were splashing around like they were little kids again.

Lorelei turned to Kain. "Come look!" She called with a smile, gesturing for him to come over. He did, looking around. The sky was cloudy and dark, looking more like the evening than early morning. There was a sudden gust of cold wind as the scent of water hit Kain like a truck, making him shuffle back inside and shiver uncomfortably. 

"Oh, do you want your earmuffs?" Lorelei glanced down at the smaller angel, seeming to forget the rain for a split second to tend to her little brother.

"No, it's- it's fine." Kain shuddered from the cold, wrapping his robe tighter around his form. "I'm gonna get a blanket, though. It's freezing..." He shuffled over to the duvet, picking up a dark blue blanket and putting it over his shoulders. He gripped it tightly, shifting so it covered his arms. "That's better." He grumbled, puffing his cheeks. Lorelei outstretched a wing and pulled Kain closer to her side with a smile.

"Oh, hi Kain." The wingless angel was startled by Johnathan's voice, looking up to see the brown-haired angel in question. "You liking the rain?" Johnathan was smiling for once, wringing his hair free of water even though it would get wet again anyway.

"I mean, it's pretty." Kain shrugged. "Kinda cold, though." He shivered a bit, making Lorelei hold him tighter.

"Oh, come on. You should be thankful- how often does this happen? Be glad it's in your lifetime at all!" Johnathan didn't seem to be seriously scolding Kain, smiling and holding his hands up to let the rain drop onto them. He was certainly in a good mood. Maybe the water was therapeutic.

"I am thankful. I just don't like how cold it is." Kain sniffled, wriggling free of Lorelei's wing and stepping out onto the wet grass. A drop of water hit him square on the nose, making him shake his head and grunt in disapproval.

"You'd best learn to enjoy it while it's still here." Johnathan ruffled Kain's hair. The other hissed and shuffled back inside. Johnathan just laughed, turning to Lorelei. "You sure you're raising an angel and not a cat, Lorelei?"

"...what's a cat?"

"I- nevermind. Hey, have either of you seen Lucifer?" Johnathan tugged nervously at the sleeves of his robe, pulling them over his hands. "No way he'd miss out on this."

Lucifer was there. Hovering a little behind Johnathan, in fact, with pink colored wings totally still as if not to make a sound. He was wearing his trademark trickster grin, and it was quite obvious as to what he was planning. 

"Uh, nope. Maybe he slept in." Lorelei lied, scratching her head. "Or he's in 'detention' again." She laughed a bit, making air quotes with her wings on the word 'detention'.

"Yeah, maybe. Remind me to go and wake him up, he's not gonna want to-"

"Boo!" 

"AAHH WHAT THE SHI-" Johnathan jolted in surprise when Lucifer suddenly grabbed his shoulders, whirling around to see the angel laughing hysterically. Lorelei was laughing, too. "/Lucifer/!" Johnathan scolded, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration.

"Man, you..." Lucifer was cut off by his own giggling. "I got you good! You should've seen the- eheheheh -the look on your face!!" He clapped in amusement, wings fluttering wildly as he laughed.

"Yes, you're very funny." Johnathan huffed as he crossed his arms, blushing and looking away in mock anger.

"He did get you good, Johnathan." Lorelei cut in with a small chuckle. "You were pretty scared." 

"H-hey! I was just startled, is all!" "Suure."

Kain had slipped past his friends while they were distracted with each other, which wasn't hard as Johnathan was especially distracted when Lucifer was involved. It didn't take a genius to know he had... 'feelings' for the white haired angel. But that wasn't any Kain's concern- he was happy to see Johnathan unwind for once and not be such a stickler for the rules. He waddled out into the rain, still clutching his blanket. Maybe he could go see Artemis. Even the grumpy old knowledge god had to be having fun, right?


	2. Chapter 2

The grass was uncomfortably wet beneath Kain's bare feet, even muddy water in some spots. It felt disgusting, too slimy and wet, and he wanted to get to drier grass as soon as he could. How could some people play around in this? It puzzled him to no end as he made a show out of avoiding puddles wherever possible. Times like this he really wished he had wings...

There were other angels around of course, all seeming to enjoy the newfound weather. Large clouds had collected in the darkening sky, rain falling loudly and without reckon. It wasn't long before Kain's usually well kept curly hair had gone straight, droopy, and wet. He brushed aside his bangs- a habit of his -and looked around for Artemis, recoiling a bit at his sopping wet hair.

He was surprised to see the god just sat outside on a cushion propped against a hut, so much so that he had to look twice to make sure it was him. Artemis saw Kain and smiled, cleaning off his glasses that had been covered in beads of water. He waved, marking his spot in the book he'd been reading with a fancy looking red bookmark that Kain had seen a couple times before. "Good morning, Kain! Are you enjoying the weather?"

"More or less." The other mumbled, shivering. "It's gross feeling, I think." He carefully sat next to the god, unraveling his blanket to sit on it rather than the wet grass. 

"Would you like to come inside?" Artemis nodded to the gods' building, not too long a walk from where him and Kain were sat. "It is pretty chilly out. Most of the gods are out here, so it won't be noisy if that's bothersome."

The only response Artemis got was the sound of ruffling fabric as Kain stood on cracking joints. He stretched, though he'd only been sat down for a couple seconds. "Sure." Kain mumbled, yawning again. He picked the blanket up again, face scrunching into a look of disgust to find it had gotten muddy. He shook it off wildly, Artemis stepping aside to avoid the onslaught of mud. When he was done it wasn't entirely clean or dry, but it would do. Kain reminded himself to wash off when he got home.

He wrapped it around himself again, making sure the dirty side wasn't the side that'd be touching his skin. "What's Lord Rashnu been up to?" He asked, trying to start conversation so the walk to the gods' home wouldn't be as awkward.

"Not unwinding, that's for sure." Artemis sighed, pushing up his glasses. "He has to learn to stop and smell the flowers someday. It's raining for the first time in three hundred years and his first thought was to yell at Lucifer for playing in the puddles." Artemis shook his head.

Kain smirked a bit. "He's kind of like Johnathan, isn't he? If Johnathan was a god of judgment and... had yellow hair." The two began walking, Kain breathing a little too hard to try and warm himself up.

"Johnathan might have yellow hair when he gets older, you know." Artemis smiled. "Angels, their hair gets more vibrant as they get older."

The other stopped for a second. "Really?" 

"Yup!" Artemis continued walking, now passing Kain. "You might not remember it, but your hair was just plain silver when you were newly formed. When you get older, it'll be a bright sky blue!" 

Kain thought about that for a second. Bright blue hair? That was kinda nice sounding. Johnathan with orange or yellow hair, and Lorelei's as yellow as the sun... "What about angels like Lucifer?" 

"Hmm... white hair is very tricky. It could be any color." Artemis shrugged. "I think he'd be happy with whatever color he gets. He's the easily pleased type."

"How do you know every angel so well?" 

"Being the god of knowledge has its benefits. Like...hm.. that angel over there?" Artemis pointed to a random angel. A skinny blonde male with teal tipped wings and dark blue eyes sat back on a towel watching two newly formed angels play in the puddles. "His name is Avanno. He has bad eyesight. He was formed around the same time as Lorelei- they were pretty good friends way back when. He gained his wings working as a servant for the gods and his favorite food is bananas. He lives with his newly formed little sibling and his best friend Tatrasiel and his family."

Kain studied the angel- Avanno apparently. He seemed pretty laid back, happy watching what Kain assumed was his family enjoying the rain. "Why did he work as a servant? He doesn't look like one..."

"It was punishment, he'd stolen books from me. He was a good angel of course, but that was quite the slip up." Artemis shrugged. "To this day, I'm not sure why he did it. He must have had a good reason- he's not necessarily the rebellious type. He still had to be punished, of course. That's just how things are."

Kain nodded in understanding. He'd have to ask Lorelei about Avanno at some point later. He didn't say anything else and neither did Artemis, the two seemingly lost in thought as they wandered through the wet grass. 

"We're here." Artemis stated rather obviously once they reached his home. "After you." He stepped aside to let Kain walk in, then followed.

Kain was very relieved at the warmth of the inside of the building. He let out a happy sigh, taking off his blanket and throwing it over his shoulder. It just appeared to be a small room by the looks of it, possibly smaller than the shacks the regular angels lived in. There were large bookshelves absolutely stuffed with books, most of the titles about the surface world. Kain had been to Artemis's library many times before, and each time he visited there were more books on the shelves and less rooms. It seemed that he didn't even have any sort of kitchen or anything, at least not that Kain could see. Though he supposed Artemis wasn't the 'live large' type. Not many citizens of Heaven were.

"Thanks, Lord Artemis." Kain shivered. "Could you close the door?" He shook himself dry, which was probably sacrilegious now that he thought about it since he was in a god's home. Artemis didn't respond but the sound of the door closing was a good enough answer.

"Shouldn't you be out enjoying the rain, though?" Kain asked, sitting down at a dusty circular wooden table and tossing his balled up wet blanket across the room to try and make it into the hamper. It didn't, hitting the floor with a wet thump. He sighed. "I mean, this is a rare thing! You shouldn't have to miss it 'cause of me." He rested his chin on one hand, tracing the grooves on the table with the other one. Part of him really did feel bad. Sure, Artemis liked Kain, but was spending time with him really worth missing out on an event that occurs once in three hundred years? 

The corners of Artemis's mouth turned up into a smile, laughing a bit as if Kain's question was one of the most ridiculous things he'd ever heard. "I'm not missing out on the rain! I can still watch it, you know." He nodded to the window, rain pelting the glass. 

Kain's nose wrinkled, fists clenching. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much, but... "It's not the same, though! You should be out there enjoying it, not spending your time with some dumb needy screwup angel!" He didn't intend for his voice to raise that much, but by the end of it he might as well have been shouting at Artemis. A look of shock crossed the knowledge god's face, and after a couple of seconds it crossed Kain's face too. "Oh- oh my god, I..." He shot up, chair screeching. His voice trembled, as did his body. His hands shook wildly, and after he got in control of them he clasped them together in prayer. "I didn't mean to yell, holy shit... I'm so sorry, Lord Artemis, I-"

"It's good of you to consider my wellbeing, Kain." Artemis smiled. "But I'm fine. You're one of my favorite angels, you know." Kain stared at him in surprise, mouth wide in shock like a fish out of water. 

"I-..."

"It's okay, Kain!" Artemis laughed, gesturing for Kain to sit back down. "It's okay. It really is. I'd rather you be cozy here than unhappy in the rain." 

The wingless angel looked down, eventually pulling the chair back and sitting down. "...if you say so." He didn't sound sure, but it was better than his insisting that he was wasting Artemis's time. He stared at his hands, still shaking a bit. He stuffed them under his legs to cease them, looking out the window. The rain was now an absolute cascade, the glass looking like water was being poured over it. It really did look like night outside, like he'd be sleeping right about now. 

"It's picking up." Artemis commented, taking a seat at the chair across from Kain. "Have you eaten yet?" He looked at the mortal angel. "I can make you something if you're hungry."

That was true. Artemis could cook, fairly well in fact. He baked too, making the best desserts Kain could ever imagine. He liked Artemis's cooking more than Lorelei's, if he was being honest. Lorelei wasn't necessarily an experienced chef, and while her dishes were 'made with love' they were also burnt more often than not. Johnathan could cook, he just didn't very often. Or at all, now that Kain thought about it.

He shook his head no despite how tempting food was. "I'm not... too hungry." He went back to tracing the grooves on the table with a finger. "Your library is very nice. It's warm and-..." He found himself yawning. "-and cozy..."

"Tired?" Artemis chuckled, watching Kain rub his eyes. He bent over to pick the blanket Kain threw, properly putting it in the hamper.

"No..." The other's face twitched oddly as he tried to cover up another yawn. He put his chin in his hands, eyes drooping. 

"Uh-huh." The knowledge god stood, walking out the room. "I'll be back in a second." Kain nodded despite knowing Artemis wouldn't see it. He really was tired. The soft tapping of the rain coupled with the warmth of the library, it being dark out, and being up a little earlier than he should be up at did make Kain feel sleepy. Johnathan always told him he was lazy.

When Artemis returned, Kain was softly snoring on the desk with his head down. The god smiled a bit, tossing a blanket over the other. "'Night, Kain." He whispered in a tone not unlike Lorelei's, heading back out into the rain after turning the lights to the library off.


End file.
